Gamma Cygnus Region

Nebula Near Gamma Cygni in the constelation Cygnus
Nebula Near Gamma Cygni in the constellation Cygnus The Swan. LRGBHA image taken with TMB 80mm fl 384 f/4.8 ST10xme KAF3200 chip 2.2 x 1.5 degree field 14.9 x 10 mm Taken 4/20/2018 Jupiter Ridge 4, Observatory near Anza, Ca.; North is to the right
Telescope / Lens TMB 80mm f/6 & Tele Vue TRF2008 0.8 reducer
Mount Type Astro-Physics 1200
Camera SBIG ST10XME , KAF3200
 Filters Astro-Don LRGB Generation 2, 9nm Ha
 Film  CCD, NABG
 Exposure 3 hours  -20° C ; Ha, LRGB
 Processing CCDSoft,  CCDStack & Photoshop CS6
 Date 04/20/2018
 Location  Jupiter Ridge # 4,  (OCA Anza, CA. Site)
 Conditions 4321 ′ magnitude 5.8  20.85 SQM

Gama Cygnus (Cygni)Region surrounding the Star Sadr (37-Gamma Cygni)shining at magnitude 2.2, in the Constellation Cygnus the Swan, is full of nebula.  The above image is to the North- East of IC 1318, Sadr star is not visible in this image.  This region is also referred to as IC 1318, the entire region is full of diffuse emission nebula along with dark dust lanes and structure.  Readily visible in binoculars from a Dark Sky site.

To the North is the bright star Deneb (mag. 1.25) and the famous North American Nebula NGC 7000 along with the Pelican Nebula IC 5070.

This image was capture with a TMB 80mm f/6 triplet APO refractor using a Tel Vue TRF-2008 0.8 reducer and field-flatter attached to SBIG CFW9 and ST10XME NABG CCD camera.

The Ring Nebula M57 (NGC 6720)

Ring Nebula M57 (NGC 6720
Ring Nebula M57 (NGC 6720)
Telescope / Lens 11″ Celestron SCT
Mount Type Astro-Physics 1200
Camera SBIG ST8XME, Astrodon Filters generation 1
 Filters Astrodon E-Series Ha,LRGB
 Film  CCD
 Exposure Total Exposure -105 minutes; LRGB- binned 2×2
 Processing CCDSoft 5, AIP4WIN 2.0, Photoshop CS2,
 Date  09-21-2007
 Location  June Mountain, near Eagles Rest, South of Dexter, Oregon
 Conditions 3232′ magnitude 6.2 Skies; Clear & Steady, SQM 21.6

The Ring Nebula M57 / NGC 6720 is located in the constellation Lyra, between the bottom two stars b & y Lyra that form a parallelogram below Vega. M57 the Ring is one of the best known Planetary Nebula in the sky. Distinct gas clouds that form this spectacular ring, were thrown off by the magnitude 15.31 central star. The central star was originally a Red Giant and is near the end of it’s stellar evolution and is forming a white dwarf. It has been expanding for approximately 1600-1840 years.The nebula itself, has only a total brightness of magnitude 9. It is about the same size as Jupiter when viewed through telescope with a size of only 3.8′ arc minutes. It requires 6-8 inch scope to see it as a small smoke ring. To see the central star usually require a 10″ or larger telescope. M57 also know as NGC 6720 is about 2,150 Light Years from Earth.

Charles Messier was searching for comets when he discovered the Ring nebula in January 1779.  It found its way into the Messier’s Catalogue as M 57.  The Messier catalogue lists 109-110 objects readily observed in a good 4″ refractor.

Below is a cropped view of the same image above, clearly showing the central star.  The resolution that modern day CCD imaging can accomplish in small telescopes is amazing.

Ring Nebula M57 (NGC 6720) cropped
The Ring Nebula M57 (NGC 6720) cropped

 

 

NGC 7000 North American Nebula IC 5067 Pelican Nebula

North American Nebula NGC 7000
NGC 7000 North American Nebula & IC5067 Pelican Nebula (Film Image)
Telescope / Lens Tokina/Canon 300mm f/2.8 Lens
Mount Type G11 Losmandy, Takahashi FS 78, Manual Guiding
Camera Canon F-1 with bright screen and angle B finder
 Filters 112mm UV
 Film  Kodak Elite Chrome E200, Push 1
 Exposure 15 minutes
 Processing Photoshop CS2
 Date 6-19-2004
 Location  Eagles Rest, near Dexter, Oregon 122° 43.53 W 43° 48.41′ N
 Conditions 2557′ magnitude 6.0 Skies; Clear & Steady

NGC 7000 the North American Nebula in the constellation Cygnus. This nebula is next to the star Deneb which is the tail star of the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. Next to the North American Nebula is the Pelican Nebula (IC5067). NGC 7000 the North American Nebula is very large and visible with the naked eye from a Dark Sky site.  It is 1600 Light Years distant, 120 x 100 arcminutes, roughly 4 times the size of the full moon.     

IC 5067, the Pelican Nebula, 60 x 50 arcminutes, 1,800 light years distant.  This image was captures on film, while the camera was manually guided through a 78mm diameter (3″) telescope using an illuminated cross-hair eyepiece.

IC 5067 Nebula HaLRGB
IC 5067 Nebula HaLRGB; taken with TEC 140mm f/7 refractor & ST10xme CCD Camera
IC 5067 Ha Crop, Protostar
IC 5067 Ha Crop, Protostar

Protostar forming in IC 5067, was observed by Jerry Oltion in a 96″ telescope.  Jerry conveyed the location in IC 5067. I was able to locate and capture it with a 5.5″ refractor and st10xme CCD camera using a 9nm Ha filter on 8/17/2009 from a Dark Sky site in Oregon.  Above and below is a crop of the star form area.

 

 

 

 

 

Helix Nebula NGC 7293

Helix Nebula NGC 7293
Helix Nebula NGC 7293 “Eye of God”
Telescope / Lens TEC 140mm f/7
Mount Type Astro-Physics 1200
Camera ST8XME
 Filters Astro-Don LRGB
 Film  CCD – KAF 1602E 13.8 mm x 9.2 mm
 Exposure LRGB 130 minuets -20° C
 Processing CCDSoft, AIP4Win, CCDStack & Photoshop CS2
 Date 8-15-2007
 Location  June Mountain, near Dexter, Oregon 122° 43.53 W 43° 48.41′ N
 Conditions 3252′ magnitude 6.2 Skies; Clear & Steady

Helix Nebula NGC 7293, a planetary nebula in the constellation Aquarius, 714 Light years away. Discovered by Karl Ludwig in 1824. The helix Nebula formed when an intermediate low-mass star sheds it’s outer layers, leaving a remnant stellar core which will become a White Dwarf star. Helix is 25 arcminutes in diameter, the outer layer is estimated to have formed 6,500 years ago, while the inner region 12,000 years ago.

This image was taken with a 5.5 inch Tech Engineering refractor on an  Astro-Physics 1200 mount from a remote Dark Sky Site.  All the equipment had to be setup and calibrated for that location.

An SBIG (Diffraction Limited) NABG CCD Camera, color filter-wheel (CFW8a) using Astro-Don Generation 1 true balance Luminance, Red, Green & Blue filters were used to capture the light channels which were combined to form a color image.